MORE
BEER Much is afoot
in the landof Blasé Debris. First
of all, Albany’s “hometown horror punks” are gearing
up for the release of their second album, Morfiend,
on Altercation Records. They’ll celebrate the
new disc with a release show on Saturday (April
5), upstairs at Valentine’s in Albany. If that
news alone isn’t enough to get your punk-rock
pulse pumping, check this out: Duane Beer
and his band reportedly have been selected to
play on six East Coast dates of this summer’s
installment of the Warped Tour. The Vans-footwear-sponsored
touring music-and-sports festival is in its 13th
year; this summer’s lineup includes Pennywise,
the All-American Rejects, Gym Class
Heroes and Against Me!.Rumor
has it Blasé Debris will join the tour July 24-30,
but further specifics have yet to be finalized—as
does a confirmation from the promoter. Keep tabs
on all things Blasé at myspace.com/blasedebris.

PUNCHLINES FOR PUNKS Speaking of Altercation
Records, Justin Habersaat, founder of the
label as well as its long- running namesake, the
formerly regionally published punk-rock magazine
Altercation (now based in Austin, Texas),
will indulge his other interest—stand-up comedy—on
this spring’s Altercation Stand Up Punk Rock
Comedy Tour. But Habersaat has been living
his comedic alternate life for a lot longer than
he’s been a publisher, he says, and he certainly
has his timing down: The current tour follows
Habersaat’s label client, Blasé Debris (see above),
into Val- entine’s on Sunday (April 6). Check
out valentinesalbany.com for full lineup and time
and price information; visit myspace.com/ standuppunk
or alter cation.net for more on the tour.

PEAKING EARLY? Some area high-school students
will get a crack at the big time this week when
they take the Proctors Theatre mainstage to open
for Blood Sweat & Tears. Both the Niskayuna
High School Jazz Band and the Sayles School
of Fine Arts Jazz Combo have been invited
to warm up the audience at the show tomorrow (Friday,
April 5) night. After their opening sets, the
students will have the chance to perform a song
or two with members of the venerable rock-jazz-blues
outfit, including founding member and Nisky grad
Steve Katz. Twenty bucks says “Spinning
Wheel.” Call the Proctors box office at 346-6204
to reserve tickets; call me at the Metroland
office to place your own wager. (Not really. Don’t
call.)

YOUR FIRST GIG Pretty much everyone agrees
that children benefit from exposure to music instruction,
and the Music Studio wants to help your
kids (and you parents too, naturally) take that
first step. The studio, at 1237 Central Ave. in
Albany, will hold two open houses for children
ages 3 to 7 this week, on Saturday (April 5) at
11 AM, and on Tuesday (April 8) at 7 PM. These
events will allow children and parents to join
in “singing, musical games and stories, fun with
rhythm instruments, and notereading”—and whatever
else the young minds are interested in. Twenty
bucks to the first kid to crack out “Iron Man”
on the recorder. (Again, not really. Must be the
restless-leg-syndrome medication talking.) Both
open houses are free and open to the public; call
the Music Studio at 459-7799 for more information.

—John
Brodeur

Let
us know about local-music news and happenings
for inclusion in Rough Mix: E-mail John Brodeur
at jbrodeur@metroland .net or call (518) 463-2500
ext. 145.